Curriculum reform in higher education has been taking place in many countries, with much attention paid to many such as the national-level Bologna process in Europe, institutional-level Melbourne Model in Australia and discipline-level Engineering Criteria 2000(EC2000). This paper gives a detailed account of the reform initiatives taking place in the recent Hong Kong educational system and in particular, focusing on a research-intensive university in Hong Kong through literature and consultations. Being aware that teachers often face challenges in dealing with curriculum changes, this small-scale study aims to identify areas which faculty members require assistance in their professional development by investigating university teachers' perception of the curriculum reform in the Science discipline. Through quantitative and qualitative methods, it was also found that academics expressed doubts towards the implementation of outcome-based and student-centered learning approaches in the new curriculum despite their understanding of these concepts.
[Copyright of International Education Studies is the property of Canadian Center of Science and Education. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/ies.v6n4p56]

The purpose of this study is to provide a better understanding of how instructional leadership responsibilities are distributed in International Baccalaureate (IB) schools in East Asia. Case studies were conducted in five international schools located in Thailand, Vietnam, Hong Kong, and China. These schools were selected on the basis of location in East Asia, the offering of the full continuum of the IB's three programs, and evidence of prior academic success. In total, 68 teachers and administrators and 25 students were interviewed. Qualitative analysis of the interview data was conducted using pattern coding. Three broad instructional leadership practices were identified: curriculum articulation, cross-program activities, and strategic staffing. These appeared to enhance curriculum consistency and coherence across the three IB programs, a problem that had been identified in full-continuum IB schools. The qualitative data suggested that distributed instructional leadership forged and sustained professional interactions among staff across programs and organizational units. IB schools globally are often structurally separated into two or three organizational units (e.g., primary, middle, high school). These units operate IB programs that, despite their common origin and international philosophy, employ distinct pedagogical and curricular approaches. The findings reinforce the importance of acting intentionally to distribute responsibilities for instructional leadership widely throughout the school. They also support the assertion that international schools offer a unique and fruitful context for studying distributed instructional leadership.
[Copyright of Educational Administration Quarterly is the property of Corwin Press, Inc. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0013161X11436271]

The process of formative assessment in universities has the potential to engage students in reflection and to take greater ownership of their learning. We report on a study involving 104 students taking a statistics course in a degree programme in rehabilitation science in Hong Kong. The assessment strategy was redesigned to include a weekly online formative assessment activity for 10 weeks. In this case, it was observed that there was a high participation rate across weeks. An end-of-course online survey was conducted to explore the learning experiences during formative assessment of the cohort, and students reported high satisfaction with the process, particularly how this contributed to a change in their learning approach. Students not only showed regular commitment of time on tasks but also took active steps to find answers for themselves and with their peers.
[Copyright of Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2010.523818]